Sunday, February 16, 2014

WHY CHICKY CROSSED THE ROAD

Chicky  preparing  for  flight  in  backyard.

The  Berlin Wall having  been  taken  down because Chicky , the cute  Bush Stone Curlew ,  had   been  seen  hopping over  it , following  its  errant   parents , it was only a matter of  time  before she   decided  to  spread  her   wings and  take  to  the air .  Soon   after, Chicky, too  big  to  be   threatened   by   the  murderous  Barking  Owl , which  killed  seven  chicks  alone  in  a  small  area,    was  seen  flapping  about  the  confines  of  the  backyard  as  if  about  to  take  off.
 
At  times  she  was  actually  airborne,  but   not  much  above  the  ground   and  landed  awkwardly on  her  long, fashion model  legs .   Then   she  ran  down  the  side  of   the  house   to  the  driveway , shook   her   tail  feathers , fluffed  up   and  seemed   about  to  launch  herself  into space.   Instead, she   stood  for  ages, eventually  slowly   made  her  way  to  the  gutter ; one of  her  parents  emerged from  an  overgrown   vacant   allotment , a  popular  Curlew  gathering  spot ,    and   approached , eventually  stopping  in  the  centre  of  the  roadway.
Pixie  Photo  of  Chicky- now  a  flighty  teenager .

Both   stood  like  statues . Just   looking  at  each  other . The  other  Curlew  parent   came   into view  on  the  far  side of  the  road . Was   this  the moment  of  lift   off? . Armed  with  a  camera, I watched   and   watched ,  but  there  was  no maiden  flight.  Chicky  decided, instead, to  go  for  a gallop  along  th e road .The  strain of watching and   waiting , smacking  a  mossie  or  two ,   was  hard  to bear, the sun  setting, so  went  inside.  Several  times,  while watching TV, I   got up,  put  the  backyard  light on  to  see  if  the Curlews  had returned.  No. The  entire  family could  be  on  a  joyflight .  They  had  not   shown  up  in  the  backyard  by  bedtime, raising some concern .

Waking  shortly  before  2am  and  hearing  that South Africa was  being  plucked  by the   high  flying  Australian cricket side , a  familiar  sound  came from  the verandah outside  my  bedroom –Chicky  ,  the  soon  to  be  frequent flyer . Had  she  been  looping-  the -  loop  all night  , in  the  process  casting   of   the   fear of  flying  and , it  being   bright  night , deciding   to   join  the Chinese  Jade Rabbit  on  the  Moon  some  time  soon  ?